Population Principles with Number-Dependent Critical Levels

Charles Blackorby, Walter Bossert and David Donaldson

Working Papers from Rice University, Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper introduces and characterizes the number-sensitive critical-level generalized utilitarian family of population principles which is a generalization of the critical-level generalized-utilitarian family. Number-sensitive critical-level utilitarian principles rank alternatives by using a value function that is equal to total utility minus a sum of critical levels that may depend on population size but not on individual utilities, and number-sensitive critical-level generalized-utilitarian principles use transformed utilities and critical levels. Ethical properties of the principles are investigated and the new family is compared to number-dampened generalized utilitarianism whose value functions are equal to transformed representative utility (average utility in the utilitarian case) multiplied by a function of population size.

JEL-codes: D63 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2000-02
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~econ/papers/2000papers/06Bossert.pdf

Related works:
Journal Article: Population Principles with Number‐Dependent Critical Levels (2002)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ecl:riceco:2000-06

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